A rigid airship was developed in France Solar Airship No on a solar-hydrogen engine, which in 2026 should fly around the Earth in 20-30 days along the equator.
The airship will help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 80%, compared to traditional aircraft, reports autoevolution.
According to the developers, Solar Airship One will be able to fly forever. Technology assumes that during the day the airship will run on solar energy, and at night – on hydrogen thrust. The energy accumulated during the day in the fuel cells will be used to produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water.
autoevolution.com
It is noted that the airship will be covered with 4,800 m2 of solar film. The aircraft will have the shape of a whale. Its length will reach 151 meters, and the volume of helium will be 50,000 m3. The airship has 15 gas shells, which will be individually controlled by artificial intelligence to instantly react to meteorological conditions and counteract the inertia of helium.
It is noted that more than 100 engineers from the Capgemini corporation worked on the development of the airship for 10 years.
The developers called Solar Airship One a gem of technology, energy efficiency and safety. It will have practical application in various spheres of activity, in particular in military operations and in ecotourism. For the landing of the airship, only a rotating platform on any water surface .
autoevolution.com
"Rigid airships with a hybrid power plant promise to pave the way for the complete decarbonization of all air transportation, from cargo to humanitarian missions and air tourism," the article emphasized.
It is noted that the construction of Solar Airship One will begin in 2024. After demonstration flight Euro Airship plans to pursue certification to bring the rigid airship to market in several models.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the American company Universal Hydrogen conducted a test flight on a 40-seat passenger regional airliner with hydrogen fuel cells.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the European Commission supported the agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU regarding decarbonization of aviation.
